Prospect Thread - Part XI

Brule was rushed by Columbus. No other way around it. Maybe he would have busted in Vancouver or San Jose or Detroit, but I highly doubt he would be out of the NHL if he were drafted be a solid NHL organization.

To add on to the Brule discussion, having played against him growing up in minor hockey and elite spring league he developed physically much sooner than other kids (as did Kenndal Mcardle, and Mike Gauthier (not very known now, was the 3rd overall pick in the bantam draft)). If you saw Brule in his minor hockey days he was impressive, he was simply much faster than everyone else.

At a point before his draft year, he was compared to Crosby and was projected to even go number 2 in the draft behind him. He simply peaked early, and didn't improve much afterwards.

How a player progresses is key in predicting how well they will do at the next level. Brule was rushed into the league, and most likely would be been a decent NHLer but he sustained some serious injuries right away and never took off. ( as mentioned by others)

To add on to the Brule discussion, having played against him growing up in minor hockey and elite spring league he developed physically much sooner than other kids (as did Kenndal Mcardle, and Mike Gauthier (not very known now, was the 3rd overall pick in the bantam draft)). If you saw Brule in his minor hockey days he was impressive, he was simply much faster than everyone else.

At a point before his draft year, he was compared to Crosby and was projected to even go number 2 in the draft behind him. He simply peaked early, and didn't improve much afterwards.

How a player progresses is key in predicting how well they will do at the next level. Brule was rushed into the league, and most likely would be been a decent NHLer but he sustained some serious injuries right away and never took off. ( as mentioned by others)

Tis interesting looking back on North Van kids. I still can't believe how big Dave Jones got. In bantam he was tiny and his parents are kinda short.

Haha, that got some people going. I brought up Brule because he played a power game in the WHL, as William Carrier is reported to play in the Q, and was too small to implement that game in the NHL. Sure, Carrier's got some height over Brule, but he's still undersized to play the power forward game in the NHL. How many effective 'undersized' pwf's have there been in the last ten years? Brendan Morrow is 6 foot, he's also a super tough SOB to help make up the size difference. Iggy's 6'1, 210 (also TSOB status) so it is possible, I just don't like the sound of drafting a six foot power forward with our first rounder.

I say always take the BPA, especially since some players seem to drop for no reason (I wanted Gillis to trade up and take Forsberg this year as he was dropping like it's hot but MG didn't seem to pick up on my mind beams) but I think the Canucks should be looking for pure skill in the first round this draft, prioritizing that over size. We've got Kassian now - a true powar forward, size and puck protection in Jensen and Gaunce, so we can afford to take a chance on a smaller guy if he happens to drop in the draft. We need somebody to replace (or at least, help fill the huge hole) the Sedin's skill when they retire, which would probably be around the time this pick is ready to move up in the world. We're going to be sorely lacking in finesse when they go.

Brule should still be in the NHL. Amazed he didn't get a contract last summer.

Was an exceptionally effective player for Phoenix in the 2nd half of last season - scored at a 35-point ES clip while getting 4th line minutes with scrubs. That's basically producing 2nd line offensive numbers while playing on a 4th line.

To put that in perspective, he scored 1 point for every 26 minutes of ES icetime last year. Henrik Sedin had 1 point/23 ES minutes. Ryan Kesler and 1 point/40 ES minutes.

One of the most mis-handled and unlucky players ever, and if he ever gets a quality shot with a good organization I fully expect he'll un-bust himself Dan Cleary style.

^^^
14 games, no goals and 6 assists in the Swiss League...those are not numbers suggesting he is about to break out and reach his potential...those numbers suggest he either no longer has the potential, or that he's kind of given up on the dream.

The reason I wouldn't want Brule is because he is too much of what we already have, and that is undersized players. I'm in the camp that skill beats size, but Gillis seems to be wanting to build a team based around size & skill while not sacrificing speed. Brule doesn't really fit that if you ask me.

The reason I wouldn't want Brule is because he is too much of what we already have, and that is undersized players. I'm in the camp that skill beats size, but Gillis seems to be wanting to build a team based around size & skill while not sacrificing speed. Brule doesn't really fit that if you ask me.

If its a question of Schroeder vs Brule, I take Brule every time. That isn't because he was a Giant, its because he's had a season of 65GP, 17G, 20A, 37PTS while providing some toughness...I don't think Schroeder could do that at an even smaller size.

If its a question of Schroeder vs Brule, I take Brule every time. That isn't because he was a Giant, its because he's had a season of 65GP, 17G, 20A, 37PTS while providing some toughness...I don't think Schroeder could do that at an even smaller size.

All depends on what you project Schroeder's point totals to be. If they are higher than 37 points, at any point in his career, than I take him over the modicum of toughness Brule could provide.

The reason I wouldn't want Brule is because he is too much of what we already have, and that is undersized players. I'm in the camp that skill beats size, but Gillis seems to be wanting to build a team based around size & skill while not sacrificing speed. Brule doesn't really fit that if you ask me.

I don't think we are an under-sized team, just a very average sized team. Almost everyone is 6' and around 190-210 lbs. Other than Kesler, Edler, and Kassian; we don't have enough intimidating players with good size.

I don't think we are an under-sized team, just a very average sized team. Almost everyone is 6' and around 190-210 lbs. Other than Kesler, Edler, and Kassian; we don't have enough intimidating players with good size.

Kesler is actually smaller than a whole bunch of other players: Higgins, Lapierre, Booth, Malhotra, Weise, and Garrison. Being 6'0" and 210lbs (Booth and Higgins) is more impactful when it comes to physical play than 6'2" and 202lbs (Kesler).

If you ignore all the meatheads that can't play hockey, the league average is probably around 6'0" and 185lbs.

Kesler is actually smaller than a whole bunch of other players: Higgins, Lapierre, Booth, Malhotra, Weise, and Garrison. Being 6'0" and 210lbs (Booth and Higgins) is more impactful when it comes to physical play than 6'2" and 202lbs (Kesler).

If you ignore all the meatheads that can't play hockey, the league average is probably around 6'0" and 185lbs.

My mistake, I guess his weight is exaggerated on wiki (225 lbs.). But the point still stands, we don't have many physically intimidating guys outside of Kassian and Edler and Edler doesn't have the snarl to use his size consistently.